November 2, 1899 – August 4, 1984
At a glance
- Founded the Brotherhood in 1932
- Served prairie parishes
- Champion of Eastern Rite heritage
A Life of Service
Rt. Rev. Mitrat Stefan Semczuk
Founder of the Ukrainian Catholic Brotherhood of Canada
Born in Lviv, Western Ukraine, on November 2, 1899, Rt. Rev. Mitrat Stefan Semczuk was the son of Theodore and Catherine (Petrukh) Semczuk. He received his primary and secondary education in Lviv and Cieszanów and completed his studies in Peremyshl. Near the end of the First World War, he enlisted in the Ukrainian military forces.
From 1919 to 1923, Stefan Semczuk pursued theological studies at the Peremyshl Seminary. In April 1923, he was ordained to the Ukrainian Catholic priesthood by Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky in Lviv. He later earned a Doctorate in Theology from the University of Vienna. Between 1923 and 1928, he served in several parishes of the Peremyshl Diocese.
In 1928, Fr. Stefan Semczuk arrived in Canada and began a new chapter of ministry among Ukrainian Catholics. Initially assigned as a pastor in Winnipeg, Manitoba, he delivered his first sermon at Gonor. He subsequently served as parish priest in Alvena, Saskatchewan, from 1929 to 1933, and in Canora, Saskatchewan, and its surrounding missionary districts from 1933 to 1937.
It was during these formative years of ministry in Canada that Fr. Semczuk recognized an important need within the growing Ukrainian Catholic community: laymen required a strong organization through which they could deepen their Catholic faith, support their Church, preserve their Ukrainian Christian heritage, and serve their communities.
Founding the Ukrainian Catholic Brotherhood of Canada
In 1932, Fr. Stefan Semczuk transformed that vision into reality by founding the Ukrainian Catholic Brotherhood of Canada (UCBC).
His role as founder represents one of the most significant and enduring achievements of his life. Fr. Semczuk understood that the strength of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Canada depended not only upon its clergy and parishes, but also upon committed lay leadership. The Brotherhood was therefore conceived as a means of bringing Ukrainian Catholic men together in organized service to God, Church, family, and community.
The establishment of the UCBC provided Ukrainian Catholic men with a national organizational framework through which they could actively participate in the life and mission of the Church. Through the Brotherhood, generations of members have supported parishes and clergy, promoted Catholic values, preserved Ukrainian religious and cultural traditions, encouraged Christian fellowship, assisted charitable and community initiatives, and developed lay leadership within the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Canada.
For this reason, Fr. Semczuk should be remembered not simply as the priest who established an organization in 1932, but as the visionary founder who laid the foundation for a movement of Ukrainian Catholic lay service that has continued for generations. The continued existence and work of the Ukrainian Catholic Brotherhood of Canada stand as a living testament to his foresight, faith, and commitment to the Ukrainian Catholic community.
A Lifetime of Service
Fr. Semczuk returned to Winnipeg in 1937, where he served as pastor of St. Pokrowa Parish from 1937 to 1952 and Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish from 1952 to 1965. He also served as chaplain of the Holy Family Nursing Home and, from 1967 until his death, as associate pastor at Holy Eucharist Parish.
His contribution extended well beyond parish ministry. A journalist, editor, author, and poet, Fr. Semczuk served as associate editor of Canadian Ukraine, editor of Future of the Nation from 1933 to 1952, and editor of the theological journal Logos. He was also a member of the College of Educators associated with the Ukrainian Catholic weekly Postup in Winnipeg and authored several books of poetry.
From 1946 to 1951, he coordinated the Diocesan Relief Fund known as CARE, assisting displaced persons in post-war Europe and helping many immigrate to Canada. His service to the Church and Ukrainian community received significant ecclesiastical recognition. In 1961, Pope John XXIII named him a Monsignor, and in 1977, Patriarch and Cardinal Josyf Slipyj elevated him to the dignity of Right Reverend Mitrat.
His Legacy
Rt. Rev. Mitrat Stefan Semczuk played an important role in shaping the Ukrainian Catholic Church and the broader Ukrainian Canadian community. As a priest, theologian, missionary, journalist, humanitarian, and community leader, he dedicated his life to strengthening both the spiritual and organizational foundations of Ukrainian Catholic life in Canada.
Yet among his many accomplishments, the founding of the Ukrainian Catholic Brotherhood of Canada in 1932 remains one of his most enduring legacies.
More than nine decades later, the UCBC continues the mission that Fr. Semczuk envisioned: bringing Ukrainian Catholic men together in faith, fellowship, leadership, and service. Every generation of Brotherhood members who serves the Church and community carries forward a part of the vision he established.
Rt. Rev. Mitrat Stefan Semczuk died in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on August 4, 1984. His legacy continues through the Ukrainian Catholic institutions and communities he helped strengthen, through the Rt. Rev. Mitrat Stefan Semczuk Foundation, and, most visibly, through the Ukrainian Catholic Brotherhood of Canada — the organization he founded and whose continuing mission remains a testament to his vision and lifelong service.
Sources:
1. AI Overview: Rev. Fr. Stefan Semczuk.
2. “Founder honored at dinner,” Winnipeg Free Press, 9 December 1968.
3. Manitoba Historical Society @ https://www.mhs.mb.ca › docs › virtualmanitoba › Places Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 8 August 1984, page 46.
4. 75th Anniversary Directory (1932 – 2007) of the Ukrainian Catholic Brotherhood of Canada.f branches across Canada still stand today. The founder’s legacy is not a monument to the past, but a living community that carries his mission forward.